The Biggest Trends In Global Prosperity

WikimediaDespite economic crises and security threats everywhere you look, global prosperity is booming, according to a new study.

The 2012 Prosperity Index from the Legatum Institute rated prosperity in 142 countries based on econometric analysis of 89 variables.

The big news from the report was that the US fell out of the top 10 due to a decline in consumer and voter confidence, along with a bleak economic and entrepreneurial outlook. But that's only part of the story ...

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Prosperity around the world is increasing — especially in central and southeast Asia.

Citizens in Latin America feel especially unsafe.

Northern European countries lead for most of the sub-indexes, with African countries bringing up the rear.

Here are top 15 economies, and the only stars and stripes on here are Malaysia. The economy sub-index is calculated by measuring countries’ specific macroeconomic policies, economic satisfaction, the foundation for growth, and financial sector efficiency.

Eastern European prosperity is on the rise, while western Europe is on the decline.

Sub-Saharan Africa is suffering from a brain drain

Social Capital — the benefits derived from cooperation and treatment between different types of individuals and groups — is shockingly low throughout the Middle East, a region which has been rocked by recent instability.